School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia

Europe & Central Asia: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes was 4.72 years in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
4.72 years
Change on year
down 0.4%
Rank
41st
of 43 groups
All-time high
4.9 years
in 2011
All-time low
4.4 years
in 1994
Years of data
50
1970–2019

School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia, 1970–2019

012345197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2019, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia stood at 4.72 years.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 3.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 4.9 years in 2011 and was at its lowest, 4.4 years, in 1994.

That places Europe & Central Asia 41st out of 43 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.

School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) in Europe & Central Asia, 1970 to 2019.
Year years Change
1970 4.63 years
1971 4.64 years +0.3%
1972 4.63 years -0.1%
1973 4.61 years -0.5%
1974 4.63 years +0.4%
1975 4.62 years -0.2%
1976 4.62 years +0.0%
1977 4.6 years -0.4%
1978 4.58 years -0.4%
1979 4.56 years -0.4%
1980 4.54 years -0.6%
1981 4.49 years -1.0%
1982 4.48 years -0.2%
1983 4.47 years -0.3%
1984 4.5 years +0.7%
1985 4.5 years +0.1%
1986 4.51 years +0.3%
1987 4.53 years +0.4%
1988 4.54 years +0.2%
1989 4.51 years -0.8%
1990 4.48 years -0.5%
1991 4.47 years -0.3%
1992 4.43 years -0.9%
1993 4.41 years -0.4%
1994 4.4 years -0.3%
1995 4.41 years +0.3%
1996 4.53 years +2.6%
1997 4.55 years +0.6%
1998 4.63 years +1.6%
1999 4.66 years +0.8%
2000 4.69 years +0.7%
2001 4.74 years +1.0%
2002 4.79 years +1.1%
2003 4.79 years +0.1%
2004 4.84 years +0.9%
2005 4.88 years +0.9%
2006 4.87 years -0.3%
2007 4.88 years +0.2%
2008 4.89 years +0.3%
2009 4.88 years -0.3%
2010 4.89 years +0.2%
2011 4.9 years +0.2%
2012 4.89 years -0.1%
2013 4.83 years -1.3%
2014 4.79 years -1.0%
2015 4.78 years -0.1%
2016 4.76 years -0.4%
2017 4.74 years -0.4%
2018 4.74 years +0.0%
2019 4.72 years -0.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 4.61 years 4.56 years 4.64 years 10
1980s 4.51 years 4.47 years 4.54 years 10
1990s 4.5 years 4.4 years 4.66 years 10
2000s 4.82 years 4.69 years 4.89 years 10
2010s 4.81 years 4.72 years 4.9 years 10

Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia

  1. 38 American Samoa 6.98 years compare
  2. 39 Tonga 6.96 years compare
  3. 40 Tanzania, United Republic of 6.96 years compare
  4. 41 Benin 6.96 years compare
  5. 42 Tunisia 6.96 years compare
  6. 43 Nepal 6.95 years compare
  7. 44 Turks and Caicos Islands 6.95 years compare

See the full ranking of 244 places →

More reference data data for Europe & Central Asia

All data for Europe & Central Asia →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia?
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia was 4.72 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
The highest recorded value was 4.9 years in 2011.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
The lowest recorded value was 4.4 years in 1994.
How does Europe & Central Asia rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
Europe & Central Asia ranks 41st out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Europe & Central Asia data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Europe & Central Asia. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-primary-both-sexes-years/europe-and-central-asia/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
244 places, 9,854 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.